


Strange Company To Keep

by themidgardiansongstress



Series: 6901: A Grumpy Space Odyssey [1]
Category: Game Grumps, Space Grumps (GG au)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2017-08-18
Packaged: 2018-07-11 23:03:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 16,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7074226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themidgardiansongstress/pseuds/themidgardiansongstress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The year is 6963. The Grumps run a spaceship, doing small tasks here and there for money. Until they find someone who changes the course of their destinies forever. Part 2 is out now!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Before Creation

**Author's Note:**

> This prologue is to set up the original characters' arc, but not to fear! The grumps show up in Chapter 1. Also, thanks to dannyaviclan for her awesome space grumps au that inspired this! And thanks to you, reader, for taking the time to read this fic.

When I was young, my mother used to tell me a story, one I’ll tell you now.

In the beginning, there was nothing but Endless Void. Lifeless, unending nothing.  
Then, the unending pitch began twisting itself into shapes-braids. Soon, shape became bone, became sinew, became a group of beings called the Goddesses of Creation. But the Goddesses grew complacent in the void. 

And so, they created The Origin-a small sphere that contained everything in all of creation-all that was, is, and will be. To keep this frenetic energy from devolving into an orgy of bloodshed and pain, the Goddesses transformed themselves into The Shards-crystals placed at crucial points on the surface of the Origin, keeping a watchful eye on their creation. And for a time, there was peace. 

Soon, the Goddesses began to notice the Void around the Origin becoming more and more aggressive, not wanting to relinquish its’ territory to the Creation the Goddesses had crafted. 

And so, they created the seventh God-the First God of Creation. He was tasked with watching over the Origin, to protect it from The Void. The Seventh God of Creation grew angry, and resented the Goddesses for bringing him into what he believed was a degrading labor. He felt that he should rule the creation within the Origin.  
He was pacified for a time when the Goddesses allowed him to create his own Origin Matter.

But the First God did not hold creation in his heart like the Goddesses.  
He craved destruction.

And so, the First God dislodged one of The Shards from its place-and The Origin exploded, expanding to fill the void. 

This was known as The Big Bang.

When the Goddess discovered the First God’s betrayal, they banished him to spend an eternity as a cursed being-turning him into the first demon. 

As for the Shards, the Goddesses placed themselves inside the gemstones, letting themselves be carried into the expanding universe. 

The Goddesses knew a time would come when they would have to rejoin The Origin, and they used the last of their strength to craft the first non-god being: the First Daughter Of The Cosmos

And so, the first Profecy emerged:  
In the human year of 1987,  
A Daughter of the Cosmos will be reincarnated.  
She will rejoin the Shards and bring peace to creation.  
If she fails in her quest, the Shards will dissipate into dust, and the known universe will collapse to prevent The First God from obtaining control of the Shards and the Origin.  
But the last Daughter will not be alone in her quest-she will encounter a large cast of beings-that will ultimately aid her in her quest.

And so, the Shards faded away, leaving the prophecy as a birthmark on every Daughter-which forced the Goddesses to create Creatia, the first and oldest written language in Creation.

Since then, Daughter after Daughter fell to the wiles of The First God. What the Goddesses had not planned for was The First God’s powers of Temptation-ones that transformed him into a seductive and treacherous Temptation Demon-the most powerful and oldest of his kind. 

With every Daughter he consumed, The First God became gradually stronger, earning himself such titles as Mephistopheles ,and Lucifer, of which, he preferred to be called the former.

But his powers came with a cost-his appearance was that of a man that had been burned severely-seeing as how the flesh of Cosmic Children burned him from the inside out. 

And yet, he never came close to finding any of the Shards. The Daughters had never found one, and the Goddesses made sure he could not find them on his own either. His howls of rage could be heard echoing in the cosmos, manifesting as Void Pockets-later called black holes by most beings. 

But First was patient. He could wait for the last Daughter to be born.  
His wait is over.


	2. An Ill Advised Jaunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew of the spaceship Starbomb get a new job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is short, but the story picks up in the next few chapters for sure.

It’s impossible to predict what each job will turn into when you receive it.

“Captain, we’ve just received a job!” Dan reported, turning to Arin.

“Dan, I’ve already told you-call me Arin here, Captain and Commander around people we want to impress.” Arin grinned over at Dan. “What kind of job is it?”

“It looks like a simple transport jaunt.” Dan responded. “Pick up a thing, take it to a place, drop off the thing-profit.” Dan concluded.

Arin nodded, humming quietly as he looked over the message. It seemed basic enough-a transport jaunt-as Dan had said. “Alright. Barry, set a course for planet Torappu. Let’s make ourselves a few credits richer.” The crew (Kevin, Barry, Holly, Ross and obviously, Dan) gave a resounding cheer at that, joyfully oblivious to the fate that awaited them on Torappu.

They should’ve known just by the name of the planet.


	3. It's A Torappu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These guys seem trustworthy.

The Starbomb and its’ crew landed on Torappu a few hours later, kicking up a billowing cloud of grey red dust around the ship. After verifying the breathability of its’ atmosphere, Barry opened the bay doors to let the crew out.

  
Even though it was just a transport job, Arin had learned that it was better to have safety in numbers when meeting with new clientele. And so, Arin and the rest of his crew exited the ship, approaching a figure that had appeared a few feet away.

  
The being was a humanoid alien with budding horns, a mop of spiky black hair blowing in Torappu’s wind. “Commander Arin?” The creature asked, the mouths on his neck fluttering open with his wet and growling voice. “Captain of the ship Starbomb?”

  
“The same.” Arin replied, used to this kind of treatment. He gestured back at his assembled crew with one leather gloved hand. “This is my crew. Who are you?”

  
“My name is Trate. This is what you have to transport.” Trate bent down and picked up a handful of the grey red dirt of Torappu. “Our sister planet needs a few bags of our soil to grow their crops. Once they have that, the last of their inhabitants will be able to make the jaunt offworld to Torappu.”

  
Arin nodded, stroking his chin in thought. “Very well.”

  
“Good. Come with me. We need to have you sign off on some contracts.” Trate turned, walking down a set of stairs built into the ground of the planet, the Starboard crew following him down. They were led into a room that had been carved into the ground of the planet itself-a sparse seating area there for the crew.  
Arin and company sat down, Trate leaving the room.

  
“He seemed nice enough.” Holly began. As soon as she finished talking, the crew was all handcuffed down to the chairs in which they sat, trapping them.

It was nice while it lasted.


	4. You Don't Say

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This worked out well.

The crew of the Starbomb struggled in their restraints, Arin particularly agitated by his current predicament. “Fuck! This was a goddamn trap!” He shouted, letting loose a series of screeches and roars.

“Arin, that does not need to be said!” Dan yelled back, growing more and more uncomfortable. After about thirty seconds of struggling, Trate walked back into the room. When he saw that the crew was all secure, he grinned, talking into a communicator he removed from his hip.

“They’re ready. Begin transport.” Trate slipped the communicator back into his belt as he walked away, the chairs that held the crew moving on rails behind him. Arin snapped at him, trying in frustration to catch Trate in his sharp fangs. Arin eventually settled back into a low growling, his anger simmering into a frothy rage.

The chairs came to a halt in a huge chamber, the walls blindingly white. The room itself was high ceilinged, and contained nothing but a huge white globe that floated at the top of the room. The milky white sphere of glass filled the room with light-and Arin swore that he could see something moving in the globe’s center.

His train of thought was cut off by the sound of a door opening, a crew of aliens similar to Trate walking in and setting up small silver rods around the Starbomb crew as the white globe lowered to the floor.

“Start sequence 2!” A voice barked, and the Starbomb’s crews’ chairs formed a circle around the globe-the whole of their group thrown into hysterics.

“Let us go! Let us go! Ross!” Holly screamed, unable to reach for Ross. Ross tried to reach for her, to no avail. “Sequence 2 is-”

Trate began to speak as Arin moved into his place around the globe. Once the click of his seat was heard, there was a burst of energy from the globe. The blast blew away Trate and his group, along with the rest of the Starbomb crew.

A few moments later, Arin and Dan woke up on opposite sides of the globe as an earthquake began to rock the planet of Torappu.


	5. Who Are You (Going To Be) To Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who's this now?

Arin looked up as the globe dissipated, the light in the room concentrating on what had been trapped inside the sphere. The light morphed itself into the shape of a willowy figure floating above the floor. The figure turned its’ head to Arin, extending it’s hand out to him. 

Arin scrambled up the rubble to the figure, glancing back to see more of Trate’s friends chasing after him. He scraped his hands climbing on the rubble, reaching out for the figures’ glowing hand.

Dan lifted his eyes up to see the same figure. Once its’ hand extended out to him, Dan climbed nimbly up the rubble, ignoring the sounds of shouts behind him as their captors began to give chase. 

Arin’s fingertips brushed against the figures illuminating digits and-

Dan lunged forward, barely grazing the glowing hand and-

Both men felt a surge of energy burst through their bodies. With the energy came what could only later be described as a vision.

Arin saw himself kissing someone, his vision turning red as blood spattered on the ground, darkness surrounding the the ship and eating the stars, a woman’s cry-the woman not in his vision, himself running through the halls of a ship as sparks burst in the dark and a deep, deep, longing for someone he didn’t know.

Dan saw a black hole growing in space, swallowing everything he loved, black smoke surrounding him, a mirror in which his reflection was not his own, his body obeying someone else’s orders, his mind no longer his own, an old friend leaving shadows on the face of someone he loves, Arin and him holding onto someone important and that same person bleeding on the ground as they looked up at him in fear. 

Both men snapped out of the visions that had trapped their conscious thought, and looked around the room. From their joined hands, a flexible wall of light extended out, surrounding the crew of the Starbomb and protecting them from Trate’s goons. Beams of light shot out from the shield and incapacitated the advancing enemies. 

Once all of the aggressors were out of commission, the shield faded away, the light absorbing back into the figure Arin and Dan still clung to. The last of the illumination fled back into the figure, and they collapsed to the ground, Arin and Dan watching the form drop to the ground. 

That was when the rumbling began.


	6. I’ve Got To Break Through (To You)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Jontron voice* Hello thære!

Arin was never able to explain what thought process had led him to his next course of action. He picked up the figure on the ground, not even looking at the unconscious body in his arms. 

All of his crew members were now wide awake, in a hurry to escape. Ross was particularly agitated, slamming at buttons on his arms. 

“Barry!” Ross shouted once the communicator to the ship was activated. “Open the ship! Bring the ship over to us!” Ross began screaming hysterically, grabbing Holly’s hand and running out with her. Dan and Arin followed close behind, Arin still holding onto the figure that had been so crucial to their escape in the first place. 

The underground cavern into which they had been led began collapsing around them, Arin and crew exiting the structure just as a large chunk of rock crushed the hallway they had just passed through. 

Barry had thankfully moved the ship right up to the entrance of the cavern, opening the bay doors up so that the crew could all tumble into the ship in their panic. They all collapsed into the ship, Arin still standing as he held onto the frail being in his arms. 

“Holy shit! What happened?” Kevin asked, rushing into the room. “Is everything okay?”  
“I need you to get the MedBay ready!” Arin replied, not answering Kevin’s inquiry. “We have a possibly injured rescue!”

“Woah, who is that?” Ross asked, looking over at Arin for the first time. 

“Have you been carrying them the whole time?” Dan asked, now staring at the person in Arin’s arms. 

Arin nodded, speed walking to the MedBay. Once there, Arin lay the being down on the flat operating table, finally getting a good look at the person he’d been carrying. 

Arin looked into the face of a woman, still in the trappings of her youth. Her dark olive skin contrasted gently against the bone-white of the MedBay. Arin didn’t know how long she had been trapped on Torappu, but she looked like she had been frozen in time-not having aged at all. 

Her hair was black-as black as dark matter in the universe-Arin thought that if he looked hard enough into the inky black of her hair, he could see the stars. 

“What happened to you?” Arin murmured, backing away as Barry ran the medical scans on the woman’s body. 

“She’s not showing up on the scans.” Barry reported once the scans were complete. 

Her skin started glowing.


	7. Chapter 6: A Planet Dies, A Star Is Born

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This isn't...normal.

The crew of the Starbomb stared in abject horror and fascination as the woman Arin had rescued began glowing brighter. It was a wild, unfocused light, radiating throughout her entire body. 

The glowing woman began moaning in pain, her head barely moving. Even her moans seemed halted, as if something was holding her back. 

The crew seemed frozen in place, afraid to move any closer to her-worried they would hurt her. Arin, however, felt something tug at his heart-a kind of yearning. He wanted to walk towards her, to provide some comfort, even if he had no idea what was wrong with her. 

Arin took a step towards her, the woman’s head moving towards him imperceptibly. 

“Arin, wait!” Barry warned, trying to run scans on the woman again. “Don’t touch her until I can see what’s happening!” 

The woman seemed to have some awareness of what was happening, because she gave another pained moan, a spasm of pain radiating through her body as a pulse of light racked her skin. 

“Goddammit Barry, I have to do something!” Arin yelled, the lights on the ship starting to go haywire. Arin strode to the woman, taking her hand in his. 

Again, a rush of images and warmth washed over Arin’s body and mind, drowning in the energy he was getting from this girl. All at once, the light from her skin narrowed down into tiny pinpricks of light, like stars on her skin, concentrating around where Arin’s skin met hers.  

Then she fluttered her eyes open, and stared at Arin’s face for what felt like an eternity. The woman immediately bolted upright, frantically throwing her gaze around the room as she tried to asses the situation. Her body tensed, on edge, but desperately afraid that harm would come to her soon. At last, she spoke, weakly, and with utter confusion. “What year is it?”


	8. A Whole New Terrifying World

“What year?” Arin asked, perplexed. 

“Yeah-I mean, it’s still 2015, right?” The girl asked, looking around at the assembled group staring her down. Their gazes made her squirm, and she hugged herself. “Right?” She repeated her inquiry, voice audibly agitated. 

“Look, before we do anything else, let’s just get you some food and water, alright?” Arin walked towards the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder gently, smiling kindly at her. 

The young girl looked at Arin, squinting. She reached up to his face, Arin blinking curiously at her. She gently parted his lips, eyes widening when she saw a row of fangs in the place of what she assumed was normal teeth. Then she saw that Arin’s eyes were lizard-like, pupils slits instead of round. 

“What the-” She pulled away, moving out of Arin’s reach. She fell off the operating table, hitting the floor harshly, scrambling to stand up. “Wh-what?”

“It’s alright, you’re not gonna get hurt!” Arin reassured, taking a step toward her. His tail swished behind him, and the young girl bolted for the door. 

“Stay away from me!” She forced the door open, running into the hall. 

Back in the MedBay, Arin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Should we go after her?” Dan asked. 

“No.” Arin crossed his arms, watching the girl run away down the hall. “She’ll figure out the truth soon enough.”

The as of yet unnamed girl ran through the ship, taking random turns at any intersection, realizing after a few turns that she had run in a complete circle. Barry kept the crew updated on her movement, making sure she didn’t hurt herself seriously. 

Eventually, she stopped, finally looking out the window. Like most ships, the Starbomb had a large, panoramic window that displayed the majesty of the universe, letting the crew sightsee during their travels. 

“She’s in the ViewDeck.” Barry informed Arin, the crew walking to the girl’s position. 

The young girl walked up to the window, watching the stars drift slowly past, galaxies that no human from her year had seen. She placed her hand on the window, staring in disbelief. “This isn’t real.” She whispered, shaking her head. 

Arin cleared his throat gently, getting the girl’s attention. She turned to him, hand still on the glass separating her from the vacuum of space. “I think it’s time we were properly introduced.” 


	9. You Still Have A Stupid Name, Though

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title courtesy of the Grumps' playthrough of Endless Ocean 2!

Arin set a cup of tea on the table in front of the young girl, sitting across from her. The rest of the crew was seated around the table in the kitchen, trying not to stare at the girl and make her uncomfortable. 

The girl took a sip of her tea, Arin waiting patiently for her to speak, letting her take her time to answer.

“I-I don’t remember much.” The girl finally responded, tapping her fingers against the warm cup, looking down into the steaming green water. “But, if I actually try, despite flying in the face of what medical science knows about amnesia, I can grab back snatches of my past.”

“What is it that you can remember?” Arin asked, knowing that he had to be patient with her. 

“I-I know my name. Ultima Espa Ranza.” She replied, looking up at Arin, biting her lip. “What year is it again?” 

Arin nodded, stroking his chin. “Interesting name. As for you latter question, it’s 6963. You said that you remember...living in the year 2015?”

“Yeah. What about it?” Ultima asked, oblivious to the ramifications of her situation. 

“Well, by now you know that this makes you over five thousand years old, right? So, you can’t be human.” Arin concluded, trying to make sense of her life. 

“Or! Or, maybe you are human, but you got trapped in that thing we saw on Torappu-and your cage somehow kept you from aging. What can do that?” Dan asked no one in particular.

“Torappu, that’s the planet that you guys saved my from, right?” She asked, looking around the table. “Thank you, I just...I don’t know how to react to all of this.” 

“I don’t blame you. Not many people get trapped for over five thousand years in a prison that prevents them from aging. Your confusion is perfectly normal.” Arin reassured. 

“But, how am I even here? I mean, I was born in 1987, I’m a human being! No one even figured out deep space travel in my lifetime! The only thing we could send out was an unmanned satellite with a  golden record on it.”

“Satellite with a golden record?” Arin asked. “That was found back in, uh, 2016, right Kevin?” 

Kevin was the ships’ foremost expert on space travel history and logistics. Having had a passion for it from a young age, Kevin was possessed by a wanderlust for the stars, which fueled his curiosity about intergalactic travel. 

Kevin’s eyes lit up, and he leaned forward, excited at the opportunity to share his knowledge. “Yeah! That was the year the record was found and traced back to Earth. It was pretty crazy when humans first made contact with non-human species, so most just avoided Earth altogether.” 

“Earth? I was born there! Maybe, maybe if we go back there, I can remember something. Plus, I’d like to see how it’s doing after five thousand years.” Ultima smiled excitedly, looking around at the assembled group in the table. 

The crew of the Starbomb looked away. Holly was suddenly preoccupied by the state of her nailbeds. Ross examined the blank white surface of the table in front of him. Kevin avoided Ultima’s stare, Arin and Dan also avoiding eye contact with Ultima. 

Her face fell, and she looked down. “Oh, I get it. It’s too far away, isn’t it?” Ultima asked. “I’m sorry to impose.”

“It’s not that.” Arin reassured. “We can take you there, it’s alright. Barry, would you mind showing Ultima to a guest cabin?” 

Barry materialized into his holographic form for Ultima, leading her out of the kitchen as Arin buried his face in his hands. Dan looked down, horrified before looking back at Arin. “You know she’s not gonna like what we find, right?” 

“I know what happened to Earth, Dan. I know what’s waiting for her there!” He hissed back, exasperated before shaking his head. “But she has to see it for herself.”

“Why?” Dan asked.

Arin looked at him with tired eyes, dark circles quickly forming under his eyes. “Because she won’t believe me if I tell her.”


	10. Show Me Your Teeth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from the Lady Gaga song 'Teeth'.

It was a tense few days on the Starbomb. No one wanted to tell Ultima what had happened to Earth in her absence. Even if they wanted to, Arin had expressly forbidden it. He suddenly found his thoughts preoccupied with Ultima’s well-being. 

He couldn’t explain it. It was as if Ultima had blown into his life like solar storm, settling into his bones. 

After her first night in the Starbomb, Arin decided to give Ultima a tour of the Starbomb. And it was a good thing, too. Ultima had a multitude of questions for Arin, and he was happy to spend time with her, answering her questions. 

“So this is all your ship?” Ultima asked, sitting next to Arin in the ViewDeck.

“I don’t like to think of it as just my ship-the Starbomb is home to all of us, my crew and myself, and anyone who wants to call it home.” Arin responded, gazing at Ultima.

“That’s a good way of looking at it. And, all those people who helped save me, they were your crew?”

“Yeah. They’re all good people, well beings. You have to remember that not everyone on the ship is human.” Arin chuckled.

“Right, I, I’ve actually been meaning to ask you-if you’re not human… what?”

“What am I? It’s alright, you can ask.” Arin asked again. “I’m a human-Raptilian hybrid. I guess you would have called them velociraptors.” Arin explained patiently.

“Velociraptor, so, what is...that explains your teeth, your eyes, your tail…” She mused, thinking over the differences between her and Arin. “And, what else does that do to you?”

“Oh, well, it’s pretty basic stuff-heightened senses, scaly patches on my skin.” 

“That doesn’t sound basic to me. It sounds pretty advanced.” Ultima smiled weakly. “Can-can I see your teeth?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, sure.” Arin complied, smiling nervously. 

Ultima leaned forward, moving closer to Arin. “This is so cool. I mean, it’s just...do they hurt?”

“What do you mean?” Arin asked curiously, tilting his head towards her, further closing the distance between them. 

“It’s just...it’s like you’re not real.” She answered, her right hand coming up to rest her hand on his cheeks, hand hovering a few tantalizing centimeters from Arin’s cheek. Arin closed his eyes, the promise of Ultima’s touching awakening something deep within his body, mind and soul. 

“Arin!” Barry called out over the intercom, unwittingly interrupting what could have been a heartwarming moment between Ultima and Arin. What a sight it would have been. “We’ve just entered the Virgo Supercluster! We are now six hours away from planet Earth.” He reported.

Arin sighed, Ultima pulling away her hands and blushing subtly. “I’ll be at the bridge in a bit, Barry.” Arin stood up, smiling down at Ultima. “Well, let’s go find your old home.”

Ultima walked with Arin to the bridge, excited to show the crew her old home, totally unaware of the fate that had befallen the green planet. 


	11. Somewhere Only You Knew

Ultima’s excitement only grew the closer they got to Earth. 

She could hardly sit still in the bridge while the ship navigated among the stars, Ultima still not at all aware of Earth’s current state.

“I can’t wait to see it again! I wonder if they’ve finally invented hovercars.” Ultima gushed, kicking her feet while sitting next to Arin on a nearby table, her excitement uncontainable by physical means.

“Well, we have spaceships. So, hovercars aren’t too far off.” Arin smiled, knowing that he had to keep appearances up around Ultima-being careful not to give her too much hope. “But you should be careful, okay? You don’t know what Earth has gone through since you’ve gone. Five thousand years is a long time for any planet.”

“I know, but I’m optimistic, you know? I don’t want to believe that Earth went completely into disrepair. I want to hope that humanity is better than that.” She replied, smiling weakly.

“That’s a rare point of view to have. Since the universe opened up to the beings living in it, lots of people just lost their optimism. Space travel will do that to people.”

“Yeah, but, I’ll see it when I get there.” She patted his hand, smiling softly.

It only became harder for Arin to watch Ultima, knowing that that happiness would soon be horribly crushed.

“Now entering the Solar System.” Barry announced. “Will arrive at Earth in ten minutes.”

Ultima stood up, practically skipping from excitement as she rushed over to the windows in the bridge, watching excitedly as she saw the planets in the Solar System pass by. Each one was largely untouched, if slightly battered after years for meteoric abuse. This did nothing to quell her energy, as she was sure that Earth had been left untouched just as the other planets had been as well.

But the view of Earth that finally emerged in the horizon froze Ultima right down to her heart.

“No-no, what?” Ultima muttered, looking at the planet she had once known as blue and green.

Instead of blue oceans, the Earth was now covered in a dark red sea, the color of frothy blood. The once lovely green land masses were now a sickening black color, as if the Earth itself had been scorched to a blackened coal.

“What, what happened? This, this isn’t Earth!” Ultima exclaimed, hugging herself, as if it would help her contain her agony.

The Starbomb touched down on Earth, landing on a flat plateau of black rock. Ultima rushed out the bay door, stumbling into the ruined Earth.

“No, no…” She shook her head, looking up into the sky, no longer blue, but a sickening green.

Arin felt something inside him crack, a tugging on his heartstrings. He knew what it was like to see that your home had been destroyed, not necessarily by your hand, but what hurt more was the fact that you could not have saved it, even if you were there.

Ultima fell to her knees and screamed into the once blue sky, her agony piercing the crew of the Starbomb’s hearts with a white hot despair.

As Ultima fell forward, her hands on her knees, a thin line of light materialized. It emerged from her heart, and traveled out into the distance, leaving a clear line to a new fate.


	12. Maps (To The Stars?)

“Ultima.” Arin muttered, kneeling down next to her, gently placing a gloved hand on her shoulder. “Look.”

Ultima sniffed, looking up. “Whoa.” Her eyes widened, and she looked into the distance where the gossamer white line continued, past the horizon. She reached up, and took the white line gingerly in her hands, perplexed and afraid that it would snap. Ultima tugged it gently, feeling a pull in her willing her to step forward.

Ultima got up, shakily standing up. “I-I think I’m supposed to follow it.”

“Are you sure that it will be safe?” Arin asked, trying to ascertain what she was feeling.

“What else do I have left?” She replied, stepping forward. The line disappeared inside her as she moved forward, Arin indicating to the group that they had to follow.

After a few hours of running across the charred landscape, the line disappeared, the crew and Ultima standing at the lip of a large crater. “End of the line.” Ultima laughed bitterly. “What the fuck is eve here?” She picked up a rock, chucking it into the crater. “You lied to m-You lied to me!” She screamed into the crater, wiping her face of angry tears.

The ground began rumbling, the crater shifting under their feet. After a few moments, the sound of rock being slammed down echoed in the crater, a set of stairs appearing, descending into the burned Earth. “Well.” Arin sighed, getting ready to walk down the stairs. “That’s new.”

Ultima climbed down the stairs, lights illuminating their way as they went further and further into the Earth. Then the stairs opened up into a huge antechamber, a massive and imposing door taking up most of the wall. “Another dead end?” Dan asked, stepping up to the door, placing his hand on the cool stone. “It won’t budge.”

“I have a funny feeling.” Ultima stepped up to the door, placing her hands on either side of the door, palms pressing onto the smooth, cold stone. Lines of light began emerging from where Ultima’s hands made contact with the stone, spreading out to cover the doors in faintly glowing white lines. The crew of the Starbomb stepped back when a strong wind began blowing from within the door, the sound of stone sliding away accompanying the aerial change.

All at once, the door fell away entirely, revealing at last, the secret that lay beneath the burned planet. The crew gave a collective gasp, Dan and Arin simultaneously gasping sharply. 

“Oh my god.” Ultima whimpered, looking into the thing that she had always been destined to find…


	13. Is It Someone New?

“Holy shit.” Ultima rushed forward into the room, kneeling next to the figure of a woman that lay on the ground. “I need a medic!” She called out, reaching out for the figure. Her hand phased through the woman’s arm, and the figure shimmered out of existence, a mere hologram.

“Well done.” A woman’s voice echoed throughout the chamber. “You’ve passed the first test, my dear.” 

The crew of the Starbomb immediately drew their weapons, getting into fighting positions. “Show yourself!” Arin screeched, tail beginning to spike out. 

The dark rock of the chamber twisted into the shape of a woman, the color of the rock lightening to give the form different colors. Soon, the Grumps were standing before a woman that looked distinctly like Ultima, but with a more narrow face, and with much more tanned skin. 

“Mom?” Ultima took a cautious step towards the woman, tears pricking her eyes. 

“Ultima. I know this is difficult for you to see me again, but you need to pay close attention to what I have to say because I don’t have much time.” The woman stated, turning away from Ultima. It became clear to Ultima and the Grumps that they were looking at a recording of Ultima’s mother. “You have to find this, and the gem.” The recording held up a black hard drive, not quite a flat rectangle, but something shimmery and geometric. In her other hand, she held a large red jewel, shaped like a heart. “To find them you ju-” The recording was cut off as something tackled Ultima’s mother to the ground, the recording become marred and glitched, as the something began fighting for what she held. The the whole thing shorted out, the silence following the glitch deafening. 

“No, no, I can’t lose my mom again.” Ultima grit her teeth, wiping her face in case tears appeared. “I have to find that hard drive and that gem.” She said, turning to the Bombers. “You don’t have to help me look for them. If this is where you leave me, it’s fine.”

Holly shook her head, stepping forward. “No, we’ll stay to help you look for it. This will go faster if we’re all helping you.” 

From then on, the group split up to search for the gem and hard drive in the huge chamber. It became clear that the chamber was actually several miles wide, huge and expansive, filled with craggy rock outcroppings that made it difficult to navigate and see the other Bombers in. 

Dan, having not been paired up with anyone due to the uneven number of the crew that had left the Starbomb. He wandered to the Northern corner of the cave, the rocks around him blocking him from the other Bomber’s views. 

As Dan was searching through the rocks, he hummed to himself, filling the silence. So it came as a great shock to him when he heard a voice seemingly speaking directly into his head. “Daniel...” He heard it say into his mind. “Daniel…”

He turned, looking around the cave. “Who’s there?” As he looked around, he saw a figure made of strings of red light standing behind him. It beckoned to Dan, and walked through a nearby wall, phasing through it. “Hey!” Dan called out, walking to the wall. His hand slid through it, and Dan was surrounded in darkness. 

The same red figure shimmered into existence before Dan, holding it’s hand out for Dan to take. “Come…” It spoke again, the voice in Dan’s head.

Dan, being absurdly trusting for some reason, he took the hand of the red figure before him, blinking his eyes innocently. “What is it?”

The figure placed one glowing red hand on Dan’s cheek, and leaned forward. Lips and a face materialized, taking on the Dan’s appearance, albeit skinnier and with shorter hair. Dan wanted to pull away, but the figure pressed its’ lips to Dan’s, and Dan felt that dreadful pull. It was the tug of war that he would lose while fighting to keep control of his own mind. 

Dan collapsed to the ground, arcs of red light crackling off his skin, absorbing into him, making his veins glow red. His hair was shorn short, back to just below his ear level.

He writhed onto his back, crying out in pain as the heat and agon began to concentrate at his bellybutton, coalescing into something terrible.

The energy turned into a red crystal. It was firmly planted into his stomach, completing his transformation. Dan opened his eyes, his mind consumed by an all new desire.

He.

Was.

_ Hungry. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The new guy is a cross between Dan, a Steven Universe Villiain and Hannibal. It's a lot, I know.


	14. No, I'm Afraid Of You

“I found something!” Arin called out, Ultima rushing to his side, the Bombers oblivious to Dan’s absence. 

In the hidden wall, Dan stood up, moving his limbs around, adjusting to his new body. After taking a few moments to familiarize himself with it, he stepped back out to rejoin with the Bombers. 

Arin knelt down and stood again, holding a small black square shaped box in his hands. He held it out to Ultima. “I think this is yours.”

Ultima held the box in her hands tenderly, turning it over in her hands. “Ow!” She dropped the box, a dot of her blood smudging it now. The red from her skin absorbed into the black stone of the box, a long shimmery black thing emerging from it. Ultima kneeled down, picking up the box again. She pulled out the black stick, which turned out to be the hard drive her mother had been holding. 

Ultima examined the hard drive, and pressed a small button on its’ tip. The box floated out of her hand, unfolding in square chunks, opening up to release a floating red gem, cracked and damaged. It glowed red in sparks, energy spitting out of it pitifully.

Dan licked his lips, staring at the gem. Luckily for him, no one noticed this. 

The black box returned to Ultima’s hand, the red gem fell to the ground. When it made contact with the ground, its’ light morphed into the shape of a woman, one of the Goddesses of Creation. 

They had found the first Shard-or, at least, what was left of it. 

The Goddess on the ground gasped, and Dan stepped forward, his mouth watering. But Ultima cut him off as she kneeled beside the woman, blocking him off. “Who are you?”

The Goddess looked up at her. “Dear child, do you not know who I am? Have you forgotten your destiny?”

“Destiny? What, what do you mean?” Ultima shook her head. “It doesn’t matter, what can I do to help you?” 

“You must know, you must know.” She pointed to the black hard drive, indicating that Ultima had to use it. Ultima took it, staring at the small hard drive harder, squinting at it.

The hard drive split into several small black spikes, flying into Ultima’s chest, some of them flying at her eyes. She screamed, her mind filled with the history of the Universe. Ultima doubled over in pain, holding her head, her true destiny finally revealing itself to her. The spikes moved through her, concentrating into a black dot on the small of her back. The hard drive emerged from her back, staying lodged in her back. 

Ultima gasped heavily, trying to reach for the hard drive planted squarely in her back. Arin walked forward tentatively, nervous and shaken by the display. “Ultima? The hard drive…”

“I know.” She replied, voice and demeanor weary with the knowledge that she had gained. “Just take it out.”

“Are you sure?” Arin asked, kneeling behind Ultima. 

“Just do it.” 

Arin nodded, putting a hand on her shoulder. He gripped it to steady Ultima, and took a hold of the hard drive, pulling it out quickly.

Ultima gasped, arching her back in pain, gasping as she sighed heavily, turning to Arin. “Thank you.” She turned back to the Goddess. 

“Now you understand what you must do. You have a choice, Daughter. You can ignore your destiny, and you will live, but the Universe will perish.If you decide to embark on your quest and find the other Shards, then you have a chance to save the Universe, but you will have to face all new consequences. Are you sure of what you wish to do?”

Ultima nodded. “Yeah. I know what I have to do.” She took the Goddesses’ hand, and the red of her body began mingling with Ultima’s skin. The goddesses’ form was reduced into strings of red light, wrapping around Ultima like ribbons. Ultima floated above the ground, her feet leaving the ground as she floated above the Bomber’s heads. 

Ultima curled up into a fetal position once the ribbons finished curling around her body, and she unfolded her body out again as an explosion of light emerged from her. The wave of energy blasted across the expanding universe. Every being felt it shift-a change in the universal balance between good and evil-but for what side, they couldn’t say. 

As the light dissipated, the red light concentrated around Ultima’s head, and her thick black hair grew into a wild mane, long enough to reach her feet. The red light now coalesced in a cluster of stars in her hair, creating a small red galaxy near the top of her hair. 

She floated back to the ground gently, a small circular red gem now embedded into the base of her collarbone. Once she was laying on the ground again, the Bombers nervously waited for her to open her eyes, Dan’s eyes fixed on the gem embedded in Ultima’s skin. He stepped forward, but paused, remembering his instructions. 

He turned from the Bombers, pulling a small orb of light from the gem on his stomach. He gently rolled it away on the ground, grinning as the light absorbed into the ground, a strong rumbling spreading through the cave.

Ultima’s eyes flew open, and she stood, her huge mane of black hair flowing behind her. “We have to get out of here! The cave is gonna collapse!”

The Bombers made a mad dash for the exit of the cave, Ultima grabbing the hard drive and the small black box on her way out, holding them close to her chest. Ross called for Barry and Kevin to ready the ship to blast off immediately rumbling rocking the black ground beneath their feet. 

They tumbled into the ship just as before, Ultima stuffing the box and drive into her pockets, making a mad dash for the ViewDeck. She pressed her hands to the glass, watching the Earth as the Starbomb blasted away from Earth. The earthquake had in fact been a bomb, and the Earth was quickly consumed by a terrifying black fire, erasing the planet’s existence completely. 

Ultima felt broken. She lowered her hands from the glass, face expressionless as she struggled to contain what she felt at her old home being destroyed. She turned to see the Bombers watching her, concerned for her in every way, especially Arin. 

“I’ll be in my room.” She stated, leaving to go to her temporary cabin. 

The rest of the Bombers tried to return to a normal routine, recovering from their trip while Barry began searching for a nearby ShipDock for them to recover at. 

Arin tapped the table nervously, not sure what to do with himself. He had returned to his own cabin, having told the crew that he was resting. No one had seen Ultima for several hours, deciding to give her some space. 

“If you’re curious.” Barry spoke to Arin over the intercom, “She’s currently in her room.”

Arin nodded, thanking Barry for the information as he walked to Ultima’s temporary cabin.

Ultima was curled up on the low couch in the cabin, at the perfect low angle for one to almost sit on the floor and look out at the universe. She sobbed, holding her head in her hands, hands on either sides of her head, knees curled up to her chest. She cried not just for Earth, but for the fact that she had lost her mother again. 

Arin’s heart broke when he saw her like that. He hated seeing any of the Bombers upset, and though she wasn’t an official member of the crew, Arin had started to see her as a possible future Bomber. 

Despite that, he knew just what to do when he saw someone upset like this.

He stepped in, sitting next to Ultima. Turning to her, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. Arin began purring, that strangely comforting raptilian sound emanating from deep within his chest, casting a cozy aura around Ultima. He stroked her hair, his long green raptor tail wrapping around her. 

Ultima froze, not ready for the new sensations radiating through her. Sure enough, what Arin was doing had stopped her tears, and she was immensely comforted by it. Turning her face to Arin’s shoulder, she buried her head there, crying softly. 

Arin continued purring, stroking Ultima’s hair, kissing her forehead and hair every so often, willing to stay there until she felt better. 

Unbeknownst to the two of them, Dan was standing in the doorway, watching the two of them. Specifically, he was watching Ultima. Dan still hungered for the gem that now lay at the base of Ultima’s throat. 

Where the gem was didn’t matter. He would take it from Ultima’s pretty little neck. 

He would consume it. And nothing would stand in his way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's chapter title comes from Bioshock Infinte.


	15. I'm Not (Weird), I'm Five Thousand Years Old

Arin continued the calming purring, holding Ultima close. After some time, her sobs quieted, and she turned her head to rest it on Arin’s shoulder, her nose brushing against Arin’s neck. Arin blushed, a reaction from his human side, at the contact of her skin on his. 

“Better?” He asked, looking down at Ultima.

She nodded weakly, sighing softly, her breath tickling Arin’s neck, flustering him further. “Yeah. It’s...nice, that purring.”

“I’ve noticed. It always calms the crew down.”

She sat up, wiping her face, smiling quietly. “Thanks.” 

Arin nodded, looking over at Ultima. It suddenly struck him that she had much more hair than when he had first met her. “Your hair grew.”

Ultima turned to look at her huge mane, and she grinned, standing up. “Yeah, I’ve never had floor length hair before. I look like a character from Ste-” She stopped, embarrassed. “You know, it’s never really occurred to me, but there is a huge generational gap between the two of us.”

Arin tilted, his head, looking up at her. “What, because you were born over five thousand years ago?”

Ultima nodded, shaking out the thick, floor length mane of her black hair before sitting beside him. “I mean, there’s so much that I know that’s changed since I was born. I-I don’t know how to rationalize it.” She sniffed, wiping an errant tear from her cheek. Arin pulled her to his chest again, purring desperately to keep her from being sad. 

Ultima laughed in surprise, resting a hand on Arin’s chest, playing with the epaulettes on his jacket. “You know, I’m not a fragile bird that you have to take care of.”

“Good thing you’re not a bird. Because I would probably eat you.”

Ultima looked up at him, furrowing her brow. “Do you have to, eat animals? Because you’re part raptor?”

He shrugged, rubbing her shoulder. “Yeah. I mean, it’s actually kinda gory…”

Ultima patted his pec, sighing. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Arin sighed heavily, kissing the top of her head. 

Ultima bit her lip, sitting up. She shivered, feeling like someone was watching her. Then she was consumed by an overwhelming exhaustion. Though she hadn’t realized it at the time, she had had an incredibly long and exhaustive day. She yawned, audibly, Arin looking down at her. 

“Tired?” He inquired. 

“I’ll be fine.” She assured. The words had barely left her lips before Arin swept her into his arms, carrying her over the bed. He lay her down, pulling a thick blanket over her. She stared up at him, shocked and touched by his gesture. 

“Sleep well, Utlima.” He whispered, walking out of the room, the door sliding closed behind him. 

He walked off down the hall, not seeing Dan standing several feet away. Once Arin left the hall completely, Dan stopped at the door, touching it wantingly. 

“I will have you.” He murmured, walking away, in search of a suitable placater for his crystalline craving. 


	16. Polyphonic Overtone Singing = Creatia, The First Language Ever Created

The next morning, Ultima woke up, blinking as she stared at the ceiling of her temporary room. She took a few minutes for her to reevaluate as to where she was precisely, but she soon knew that it was time to get up. 

Gathering up a towel, she walked into the bathroom inside her room, letting the steamy water wash over her. As she was washing up, Ultima noticed that the water parted around the gem on her collarbone. Why it did this, she had no idea. 

She stepped out of the shower, reaching back to pull her hair into a towel, only to find that it was completely dry. Ultima blinked, turning around in the mirror to get a look at her hair. Directly on the back of her head, swirling in her hair was a cluster of red stars, hidden amongst the inky black strands of her hair. 

“Cool.” Ultima murmured, letting her hair fall back into place. 

After she was ready and dressed for the day, Ultima headed down to the kitchens of the Starbomb, walking in to find the crew eating breakfast, talking amongst themselves. The crew quieted as Ultima walked in, and she stopped in the doorway, hands fidgeting nervously. 

Arin stood, ignoring his half finished pieces of raw meat, approaching Ultima. “How did you sleep?” He asked, tilting his head towards her. 

She blinked at him, smiling nervously. “Fine, thanks. You really helped calm me down. So...what’s for breakfast?”

Once Ultima was settled in with her bowl of chicken (?) soup, she ate, Arin sitting next to her as the conversations returned to normal. They finished eating, plates sinking into the table to be cleaned later. 

“So, I think it’s time we’ve had a talk about precisely what happened yesterday.” Arin stated, turning to Ultima. 

“Right...look, before you ask anything, I have to explain what I learned on Earth.” Ultima explained.

“We’re listening.” Holly replied.

“Alright. When I was little, my mother used to tell me a story, one I’ll tell you now.”

Ultima proceeded to tell the Bombers the story of how the Universe was truly created, a truth that flew in the face of everything they had ever known about, well, everything. 

When she finished, Arin held up his hands. “Wait, wait, so you mean to tell me that you are not just human and five thousand years old, but you are also the last reincarnation of a race of superwomen created by six Goddesses in order to collect six crystals, which are also the Goddesses, and you have to find these crystals to save the universe?”

“Don’t forget about the crazy demon that’ll try to seduce her.” Holly pointed out to Arin.

“Goddesses, space demons? This all sounds like freaky-ass science fiction to me.” Ross admitted. 

“We live on a spaceship, Ross.” Holly posited. 

“Either way, what I’m telling you is true, and I think that you guys are the ones who have to help me.” Ultima intervened. 

“The story, that prophecy, it mentioned a tattoo of the prophecy, that is showed up as a birthmark on you. If it did, then that proves this is true.” Kevin theorized, pointing to Ultima.

Ultima’s face paled, and she looked down at herself, pulling her shirt back a bit. Right above her left breast, where her heart would be, was a birthmark, looking as if it had been drawn there in a steady hand with a dark black ink paintbrush with a small tip. 

It was a spiral, filled with small shapes along its’ curve. The Bombers stared at it in wonder, having never seen anything like it.

“And that’s the first written language? Creatia?” Barry asked, his holographed form pointing an iridescent pixelated finger at the birthmark. 

“Yeah, I guess so. You know, I’ve always had this, but I never really knew what it was.” Ultima sighed, staring at the birthmark curiously. 

“Can you speak Creatia? Or is it a purely visual language?” Holly asked, leaning forward, resting her chin on her hand. 

“I mean, I can try. The knowledge must be lodged into my brain somewhere.” Ultima placed her finger in the center of the spiral birthmark, closing her eyes. She started tracing the spiral outwards, and she began...singing. 

In the twenty first century, it was called polyphonic overtone singing. But it was Creatia. Her voice rang out through the ship, Ultima’s voice straining out chords, the sounds of the universe, the language of the Goddesses of Creation. 

Ultima finished tracing the spiral, her voice finishing reciting the prophecy with a final high tone. 

“Holy fuck.” Arin breathed, staring at Ultima. “I would ask what are you, but you told us already.”

“Hold on, I’m getting an incoming message.” Barry reported, retreating back into the wall, his hologram form fading away. 

“What is it?” Arin asked, looking up. 

“It’s from Mark. He’s pulling into a nearby ShipDock, and he picked up some new MedPacks.” Barry reported back. 

“Oh, perfect!” Arin exclaimed. “We can ask him to take a blood sample from Ultima.

“What? Why?” Ultima asked, looking over at Arin in confusion.

“All of our crew members have to get a blood sample taken. You know, in case of injury.” Arin replied.

“Crew members, what?” She asked, cautiously hopeful.

He nodded, taking her hand, and shaking it officially. “Welcome to the Starbomb Crew, Bomber Ultima Espa Ranza.”


	17. There's What In Your Blood?

Ultima stood in the mirror, staring at the cape that draped around her shoulders. Underneath it, she wore a black dress that reached down to her feet, which were clothed in black gladiator sandals.  

The cape was a part of the uniform for the Bombers. There were two options for Bombers, an official looking jacket, similar to military jackets of old, or. If the official nature of the jacket felt to cloying to the Bomber, there was a second option. 

That was a cape, a cape that could be buttoned into a kind of sleeve, or latched into different arrangements that complimented the Bomber’s style. 

Ultima found that the cape gave her much more freedom of movement. It might not be the best in a fight, but she would manage. 

She heard a soft knocking on the back of her door, and she spun around to see Arin standing in the doorway. He paused, smiling as he saw Ultima in the Bomber uniform. 

“So, we’re almost to the ShipDock. Thought you might want to come see it.” He stated, waiting for her to come to the doorway. 

Ultima and Arin walked to the Bridge, Arin sitting in his captain's’ chair. He cleared his throat, opening communications with the Shipdock. “Shipdock Alpha, this is Starbomb, ship ID 19867. Requesting permission to dock.”

There was a bit of static as the line connected. “Shipdock Alpha to Starbomb, permission to dock granted. Proceed to Dock 8-D.”

Ultima watched as the ship began its’ landing procedures, buttons flashed, switches were flipped, and a countdown was started. 

“Touching down in five, four, three, two, and, we are docked.” Barry announced, Dan chuckling despite his snatching. 

“Excellent.” Arin smiled, walking to leave the ship and meet up with Mark. 

Arin, Ultima, and the rest of the Bombers walked out of the ship. The ShipDock was much like the docks where boats would dock on Earth. Of course, the docks on Earth were built on water shorelines and had ships floating in them. This ShipDock consisted of SpaceShips of varying size and shape, some rundown and ramshackle, some pristine and sleek. 

Ultima looked around the dock nervously, several species of alien she had never seen before running to and fro, fro and to.

“Mark!” Arin waved, catching the attention of a black haired man wearing glasses, a small box sitting on his shoulder.

“Arin!” Mark walked forward, pulling Arin into a friendly hug, thumping his arm on Arin’s back. “Aw, it’s good to see you man, how have you been?” He asked, pulling away from Arin. 

“Great, all things considered.” Arin replied, looking back at Ultima as she stepped forward. 

“Who’s this?” Mark asked. Ultima also noticed now that the small box on Marks’ shoulder had a face and arms.

“Oh, Mark, this is Ultima Espa Ranza, our newest crewmember. Ultima, this is Mark, he’s a medic that helps us out from time to time.” Arin explained. 

Mark came forward and wrapped Ultima up in a hug. Ultima was surprised to see that his hug was warm and solid, like his chest. Ultima heard a light humming in Marks’ chest, which she guessed was meant to be his heartbeat. 

She pulled away after a few moments. “So, now that you’re a Bomber, I have to do a check up on you. Arin, you’re gonna wanna come pick up the MedKits. It’s not a lot, so the rest of your crew can shop of whatever.” 

The Bombers dispersed, Dan approaching the glint of a nearby creature’s jeweled necklace. 

Arin and Ultima followed Mark to his ship, a small silver vessel with a red M painted on its’ side. The M also sported a twirly pink mustache, something Ultima found endlessly amusing. 

Mark escorted them into his ship, leading them to a large white room. In it was a flat, glowing white table, a ring made of glowing white metal floating around the table. “Here, just lay down on the table. You can move around, but try not to flail wildly.” Mark explained, Ultima doing as she would in a normal doctor’s office. 

The ring began to glow, rotating around the table slowly, moving over Ultima, scanning her body. 

The small box that had been on Mark’s shoulder was now hopping around on a control panel nearby, flipping switches and such. Mark led Arin into the storeroom, helping him load up the medkits onto a small cart. 

After coming back to the main door, Mark checked up on the results of Ultima’s scan. Mark frowned, zooming in on a chart. “Ultima, are you completely human?” Mark asked, Ultima hopping off of the table. 

“Yeah, I think so. Why, what did you find?” She asked.

“Hopefully nothing. The machine detected an abnormality in your blood.” Mark walked to Ultima with a small silver stick, about the size and shape of a tube of chapstick. “Can I see your arm?” 

Ultima nodded, and Mark pressed the silver bar onto her arm. Ultima felt a strange pull on her arm, and Mark pulled away the silver device, placing it onto a large machine, a kind of microscope. 

He twisted some knobs, the zoomed image of Ultima’s blood flickering on the screen. Arin bit his lip, now nervous that Ultima was truly sick.

Unbeknownst to any of them, Dan had been watching them for some time now, having already had a crystalline lunch. Inadequate, but a sufficient placeholder until he could get a hold on Ultima’s gem. 

Mark, stepped back, the image coming into focus. Ultima’s blood had the same structure as normal human blood, but floating in the crimson liquid along with red and white blood cells, there was also small crystal shards floating in her blood, red, ruby like gems in her blood. “Is this normal, Ultima?”

“I mean, I guess so, I do have this.” Ultima replied, pulling off her cape to reveal the red crystal at the base of her throat.

“That would explain it.” Mark nodded.

“You’re okay with this?” Arin asked, surprised. 

“When you’re a medic for every species in the universe, it’s easy to get used to weird shit.” Mark admitted, the tiny box hopping onto Mark’s shoulder, holding a tray of tubes filled with Ultima’s blood. Mark took the capsules, handing them to Arin. “Here, to keep on your ship.” He smiled. “Other than the crystals in your blood, there’s nothing wrong with you. You’re healthy as far as anything else goes.”

Arin and Ultima left Mark’s ship with the blood and the MedKits, heading back to the Starbomb. They didn’t notice Dan standing outside of Mark’s ship. 

They didn’t notice the hunger rising in Dan’s face as he discovered the truth of Ultima’s blood. 

They didn’t see him lick his lips.

They didn’t see his desire for Ultima.

They didn’t see it coming.

They didn’t see the monster in their company, the evil within Dan. 

They didn’t see.


	18. The Starship Sets Sail

The ship was hailed for another job once the Bombers got back onto the Starbomb. It was a long way off, but not far enough to justify the use of a hyperdrive. 

And so, the Bombers set into a routine, relaxing and attending to their regular activities. Ultima, for her part, retreated to the kitchen, sitting at the table, trying to figure out the purpose of the hard drive and the black box. Besides holding the First Shard, she didn’t know anything else about the box. 

She stared at it for a frustratingly long amount of time, for hours even, before Arin found her, sitting beside her. “Any luck?” He asked, startling her out of her reverie. 

Ultima sighed, holding up the sparkly black flash drive to the light. “No. The box won’t open again. I’ve tried everything short of bleeding on it.” She looked over at him, shrugging wearily. “I hesitate to do that now, though.”

“Why? Cause of the crystals in your blood?” Arin postulated.

“It just feels like, maybe since I’m collecting the crystals, sorry, The Shards, it just seems like maybe I shouldn’t be wasting my blood like that.”

“If it’s helping you later on in your quest to find the rest of the Shards, would it be a waste of your blood?” Arin inquired.

“I mean, I guess so, but, I’m just…” She put her hand on the table, tapping her fingers. Arin unconsciously wrapped his hand around hers, fingers intertwining with hers. It seemed like the most natural thing for him to do. “I don’t know what to do.”

“How long have you been at it?” He asked, staring at her eyes. They weren’t baggy, but he could see the stress of her predicament written clearly across her face. 

“I don’t know, hours? How long has it been since we left the ShipDock?” She asked, looking desperately at him. 

He frowned, standing up. “Come on. You need a break. And I know just where to take you.” He smiled at her, Ultima pocketing the cube and the hard drive.

Arin led her down the hall into a room filled with plants. In her day, Ultima would have called it a greenhouse. “This is our ShipGarden. It supplies supplemental oxygen to the ship. And it’s pretty relaxing. We all take turns taking care of the plants, and we all get to pick the plants that get placed here.” He paused, stopping to look at a particularly pretty flower, shaped like white stars and dotted with a pink star in its’ center. But it was also in clusters flowers yet to bloom, looking like small origami stars. 

“Woah.” Ultima breathed gently, looking at the small star shaped flowers. “Who planted these?” 

“Holly. She was pretty taken by them.” Arin led her farther into the garden, the bioluminescent plants hanging on the ceilings casting the room in the cooling tones of blue, purple, and pink light. All of this light was soft, and Arin loved the way it illuminated Ultima’s olive skin. The outer edges of the garden were built similarly to the ViewDeck, large seating areas situated in front of windows that allowed for galactic sightseeing. 

Ultima approached the viewing windows, stopping when her feet were no longer touching the solid tile of the rest of the Starbomb. Now her feet met soft grass, like a meadow from her old home. 

The grass was slightly silver, like it had been brushed with morning dew. It was dotted here and there by patches of strange wildflowers, unlike any she had ever seen before. “Wow.” Ultima took off her shoes, stepping barefoot on the grass. She sighed, closing her eyes and letting her toes tangle with the long green grass blades. 

“It’s nice, right?” Arin asked, standing just out of the grassy patch. 

“Yeah, I just...it’s so, relaxing. Thank you for bringing me out here.” She admitted, smiling at him. 

Arin grinned, bending down to pick a small purple flower. He stood up, tucking the flower behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her skin. Ultima blushed, looking down. “Of course. I knew you would like the ShipGarden. I like beautiful things. That’s why I like you.” He murmured, his hand resting at the nape of her neck, tangling in her hair. 

Ultima stared into Arin’s face, trying to decipher the emotions she thought she saw there. “Arin?”

“Ultima, I want to be frank with you. I’m not talking to you as your captain-I’m talking to you as one being to another.” Arin explained, lips dangerously close to Ultima’s. 

“Say what you have to.” Ultima stammered, heart hammering out of her chest in anticipation.

“I’d like to kiss you.” He admitted truthfully. “I don’t know what you’re doing to me, but I know that something in me feels drawn to something in you.” 

No sooner had the word left his lips before Ultima leaned forward, closing the gap between her and Arin. Her lips pressed against his, her hands resting on his chest. Arin wrapped his arms around her frame, holding her close. His tail moved to wrap around her ankle as he kissed her, a subconscious effort on his bodies’ part to pull her closer, always closer. 

Ultima’s heart soared, the sweet, innocent kiss between them causing her heart to skip with joy. 

And as the Raptilian Commander of the Starbomb and the Last Daughter of the Cosmos, shared a kind kiss, the cannibalistic gem muncher known to them as Dan watched from among the plants, his mind filling with hunger.

Seeing them kiss, Dan discovered an irreversible truth. He knew now what he had to do in order to consume Ultima.

He knew now who he had to dispose of. 


	19. A Treasure Chest Of Jewels For You Is A Lunch Box For Me

Ultima and Arin walked back to Ultima’s room hand in hand. Nothing more than a lip on lip kiss had transpired between them. Ultima still felt unsteady in this world, as if the rug might be pulled out from under her at any time. Arin, for his part, didn’t want to startle her. Like a nervous hiker approaching a wild hawk, he didn’t want to move to fast, didn’t want to startle Ultima into placing more distance between them. 

They stopped outside her room, the situation mirroring the end of a date, two blushing high schoolers shared. Ultima stood in the doorway, leaning against the border between her room and the hallway. 

“We’ll be at the next job in a few hours. Do you want to come with us, or do you want to stay with Kevin on the ship?”

“I’d like to come with you guys. I want to contribute to your cause, I guess. I’m here, might as well make myself useful.” Ultima sighed, looking down and kicking one foot nervously. 

Arin’s black leather gloved hand curled under her chin, tilting it up to look into her eyes. “I am honored to have you on the ship.”

“Is that Captain Arin, or Arin?” She asked, doubtful of his sincerity.

“Both.” He smiled, pecking her once more before taking his leave. 

Ultima fell asleep, sleeping on her side to stare out the window at the passing stars. “Holy shit.” She sighed, the weight of her circumstances overwhelming her before falling asleep. curling up under the blankets.

The job they had been called on was of little fun or excitement. A group of farmers on a mostly barren planet needed help moving their supplies from one pole of the planet to the other, a straight trip from north to south. 

For farmers, they were surprisingly wealthy. They were much like the farmers that lived in the America of old, only they were paid mainly in jewels by the wealthier citizens of their planet. 

After transporting their supplies from the South to North Pole of the planet, each of the Bombers received a wooden box filled with brilliantly cut jewels, courtesy of the same wealthy citizens. These treasure boxes were received with great appreciation by the crew, and with ecstatic enjoyment by Dan. Arin thought it was strange that Dan would get so excited over a box of cut and polished gems, considering the fact that he hadn’t wanted for money since joining the Bombers, but Arin shrugged it off, considering the reaction the byproduct of having several days with no victories. 

The farmers invited the Bombers to celebrate the beginning of harvest season with them, a feast where they ate the last of their food supplies and danced to bless their fields with fecundity and full harvests. The Bombers, being courteous, accepted. 

Later that night, the Bombers were pulled into a makeshift dance floor, lanterns casting a comforting glow on the scene. 

Ultima sat at a nearby table, sipping water from a wooden carved cup, humming to herself as she tapped her foot to the music. Holly and Ross danced a mad jig on the dance floor, Holly laughing as Ross fumbled some of the moves. Kevin did an awkward two step, managing to shuffle along. 

Ultima was broken out of her reverie when Arin sat beside her, leaning back in the chair. “Having fun?” He asked, casting a twinkling eye at her. 

“I’ve never been much of a dancer. I just...like people watching.” She admitted, shrugging noncommittally. 

“Well, dancing hasn’t changed much in the five thousand years since you’ve been gone.” Arin replied. 

“That can’t be true.” Ultima laughed, shaking her head. 

“Wanna find out?” Arin asked, standing up, extending his hand out to Ultima. 

Ultima took it, and was swept into what she could only later recall as a frenzy of movement and fancy footwork. When it was time to leave the party, Ultima felt like her feet were going to fall off, exhausted physically, but exhilirated mentally. 

As the bombers re-entered the Starbomb in order to depart from the planet, they failed to notice Dan in the Kitchen, having fallen asleep next to his empty treasure chest, the jewels completely gone. 

Ultima collapsed into her bed, placing her box of jewels, her share of the pay, on her bedside table. After mere seconds, she fell asleep, failing to make sure her door had locked properly. 

But it didn’t matter.

Dan slinked into the room, his strength barely replenished by the jewels in his share of the treasure boxes. 

He stared down at Ultima’s sleeping form, stroking her cheek with the back of her fingers, the red gem at the base of her throat crackling with static, nervous energy. He wanted to take that gem away, to rip it out of her throat, unroot from the trappings of her veins and skin. Dan wanted to open her veins, wanted to let her blood run free for him to consume. 

But not yet. It was still too soon. He resigned himself to the box of jewels on Ultima’s bedside. The jewels in these boxes contained almost n life energy for him-like being forced to eat chunks of tofu when what he really wanted was rare steak. 

Dan selected a cut and polished ruby, about the size of a golf ball. As he left the room, he placed the gem into his mouth. The saliva began softening the gem almost immediately, preparing it for his consumption. 

And yet, he still hungered. 


	20. I Just Followed Your Scent, You Can Just Follow My Smile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title comes from Irresistible by Fall Out Boy.

The crew’s spirits were still buoyed by the payment from their last job, and Barry set the ship to advertise for work nearby. As such, they were lightyears away from any nearby ships. This pleased Dan immensely. He could now get to work, enacting his plan of attack.

Arin was practically skipping with joy, his fanged smile stretching from ear to ear. He turned to walk into the hallway that Ultima’s room was in, before being halted by Dan. “Arin, good, I’ve been looking for you.” 

Arin’s smiled did not falter, so great was his joy. “What is it, Dan?”

“Listen, I just…” Dan started sobbing, holding his head. “I can’t do it anymore.”

“Dan, come on, tell me what’s wrong.” Arin patted Dan’s back, guiding him to the Kitchens nearby.

Once Arin walked in ahead of him, Dan reeled back and punched Arin in the side of the throat, toppling Arin to the floor. 

“Dan! Son of a-” Arin turned to Dan, his tail spiking, smoke starting to curl from his mouth. The words caught in his throat when he saw Dan again, vastly changed. 

Now Dan wore a pink is shirt, cutting into a V down to the middle of his chest, revealing his chest hair and collarbone. His midriff was bare, the shirt cutting up to form an x with the upper neckline. But the biggest, most troubling change was at the center of Dan’s stomach, where his bellybutton should have been. In it’s place was a red gem, embedded in the skin. 

“What the hell are you?” Arin growled, getting to his feet. “What do you want from us?”

“I want the blood beating in your special one’s veins. And I want you to stay out of my way.” Dan intoned, voice low and vicious. He raised his hand, holding a dagger in his hand, ready to plunge it into Arin’s throat. 

Arin grabbed Dan’s wrist, kicking his feet out from under him. With Dan on the ground, Arin threw his fist forward to punch, Dan moving his head out of the way just in time. He grabbed Arin’s arm, sinking his sharpened teeth into his wrist. Arin screeched in pain, stumbling back off of Dan, cradling his bleeding wrist. Dan took a hold of his dagger again, smacking Arin in the head with the hilt of the dagger, Arin slumping to the ground, vision blurring as he consciousness shrank like he was looking down the wrong end of a telescope. 

“Don’t….don’t hurt my crew, you...bastard…” Arin pleaded, dreading the drain of his power leaving him. 

“I don’t make promises I can’t keep.” Dan grinned, Arin’s blood dripping down his chin. 

“Holy shit, Arin!” Ross exclaimed, rushing into the doorway. Dan looked up at the Bombers that had assembled, pleased that Ultima was nowhere to be found. 

“Sleep.” He hissed, throwing his hands out around him, tendrils of red electricity flying into the heads of the crew. They all dropped like sacks of rocks, dozing peacefully. Dan couldn’t be bothered to dispatch all of them. And so he set to work tying them to various places around the kitchen, too far away to help each other. By the end, Kevin, Holly, Ross and Arin were splayed across the room, tied to various parts of the wall. 

That left Barry, that pesky guardian of the Bombers that would throw a wrench in his plans. Dan stared up at the speaker interface from which Barry usually spoke. Dan placed his hands on the interface, pulling them away to hold a chunk of electricity in his hands-Barry’s consciousness. 

Dan shifted his hands, creating an orbed prison to hold Barry in. He set in down, walking off into the hall to find Ultima. But he could smell her life energy in the ship, shocking his nostrils like the scent of mint and lavender. 

He followed her scent through the halls.

Let the hunt begin.


	21. He Knows Your Name (He'll Eat Your Flesh)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you're sensitive to descriptions of gore and bloody situations, I wouldn't read this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Title from Red by Mirel Wagner

The sound of Arin’s screech echoed through the ship, the sound too muffled for her to discern what it was.  ut it still woke Ultima, wrenching her out of sleep.  She stood up, putting on her cape, stepping cautiously out into the corridor. Everything looked normal, which was why she didn’t initially notice Dan standing at the opposite end of the hallway.

“Ultima.” Dan simpered, sauntering over to Ultima.

“Shit!” She jumped, grabbing the doorway for support as her other hand clutched her chest. “You scared me!”

“I’m not that scary.” Dan teased, pausing. Here, he could begin his seduction. He took her hand, bending down as if to kiss it. Ultima’s hand tensed, nervous but curious about what he was doing. “I don’t bite…” Dan cooed, pressing a kiss to the top of her hand. Then, he turned his hand so that his palm was touching hers. He brought her hand to his mouth, opening it while looking up at her, ready to bite down on her hand.

Once Ultima saw his sharp, pointed teeth, she tried to yank her hand away from Dan’s grip, her hand held in his like a vice.

Dan wrapped an arm around her waist, yanking her close as he dug his face into her neck. He bit down, breaking the skin and rending her jugular open. Ultima’s scream died in her throat, so great was her terror.

Ultima’s blood flowed messily, spurting out and onto the wall and the ground, the crimson a harsh shook against the pale bluish white of the ship’s interior. Dan gulped down what he could get greedily, the blood spilling out of his mouth as he couldn’t keep up with the flow. Then he saw the blood spilling on the floor. He loosened his grip on Ultima, lost in the bloodlust as he bent down to lick the blood of the wall and floor, desperate to wring every last strength out of Ultima.

Ultima fell with a harsh thump to the floor, groaning weakly in pain. She slowly reached out, gradually pulling herself along the floor, hands finding no purchase on the flat floor. “Arin…” She moaned in pain, every beat of her heart feeding blood to the harsh wound on the side of her neck. “Help…” She mumbled, feeling a harsh hand wrapping around her ankle. Her body was yanked back and she was flipped onto her back, Dan straddling her body, holding her hands down on either side of her head.

“Dan...don’t...do this…” She pleaded, listless and barely holding onto life.

Dan bit down on her neck again, letting his saliva get to work on softening the gem on her neck. As his teeth made contact with the gem, a sharp jolt of pain racked her body, every cell in her body burning in agony, and she screamed, arching her back. “Arin!” She screamed, the last of her strength quickly leaving her as her vision blurred and darkened, death threatening to grip her.

Ultima’s scream traveled through the hallway, down a level, and into the kitchens, filtering through the cloak of sleep to awaken the creaky gears in Arin’s mind. Rage began billowing into Arin’s mind, Ultima’s pain awakening the fury in his heart. He ripped through the enchantment holding him captive, rising to his feet. He breathed heavily, the anger making him forget his pain.

He sprinted towards the door, following the sound of Ultima’s scream.

He didn’t know what hurt Ultima, what snatched Dan’s body. He didn’t care.

It was as good as dead.


	22. Like Yin and Yang, If Yang Went Insane

Ultima felt her mind being pulled into the void of death. She knew that she didn’t have long. Given the gravity of her injuries, she knew she had mere minutes left to live, less if that. 

Then a black booted foot swing across her vision, kicking Dan off of her. She winced as a fresh wave of pain radiated through her body. She rolled onto her side, finally seeing that Arin had come to her rescue. If she was of more sound mind, she would have protested at the idea of being the damsel in distress. But now, she was grateful for the saving grace. 

Arin grabbed Dan by the collar, lifted him off the ground, and punched him, throwing him back to the ground with the strength of his punch. Arin knelt down and began punching away, pummeling Dan with a blind fury that he hadn’t tapped into in several years. 

Ultima coughed, something awakening within her. Arin looked back, and watched in confusion as a cloud of deep red smoke filtered out of Ultima’s mouth, lightning cracking in the cloud of smoke. The smoke coalesced into the shape of a woman, outlined by thin trails of lightning, crackling with energy. 

“Stop.” Ultima’s mouth moved in conjunction with the woman’s, Ultima’s voice coming out of the crimson woman’s mouth. “I you created you, why do you harm those I meant for you to defend?” She asked, at last revealing herself as The Red Goddess of Creation, more concisely known as Red. A burst of red energy convulsed from Dan’s body, throwing Arin across the room. Red threw out her hands, a scarf like ribbon of red energy cradling Arin before he had a chance to hit the wall, carefully placing him on the ground. “You’ve fought well, Arin Hanson.” Red calmed, Ultima’s head turning towards Arin. Ultima’s body shuddered, Red turning back to Dan. 

He stood defiant before the goddess, a disbeliever. “You created me, but you’re weak! You don’t know what power is, you wasted what hold you had on Creation when you had the chance!” 

Red shook her head, saddened by his words. “I used the last of my strength to create you, I excised a part of myself to create you.” She placed a hand over her heart, pulling it away to show those assembled an orb of light, cracked down the middle, split in half. “How was I to know that I had removed the evil in my heart to create you? I meant for you to be relentless in your search, to be strong. What happened to you?”

“He happened to me! He showed me that you and all your sisters were wrong, if that’s what you want to call them. He promised me the universe, and her.” He pointed at Ultima, the hunger clear in his eyes.

“You have no idea what he is capable of. But I will allow you to believe that. But before you proceed,  you must know that I treasured you so much. That I trusted you to carry out this, my most important mission, to find the Last Daughter, to protect her. I knew you were strong enough, because you were made of the parts of me that I knew where capable of it.”  
Dan faltered, doubling over, the gem in his stomach sparking with life. Then he righted himself, tears streaming down his face. “Help me.” He pleaded, reaching out for Red.

Red walked forward, arms outstretched. Dan fell into her arms, Red hugging him tightly, a red wave of energy leaving Dan’s body, the now alien-free Dan falling to the ground, curled up, holding his stomach. That left a being of reddish light and fog in Red’s arms. 

This too faded away as Red absorbed what had snatched Dan’s body into her own, her form solidifying into pure red light. She turned to Ultima, kneeling beside her. Arin scrambled forward, looking down at Ultima, horrified.

“Please, help her.” Arin asked, staring at Red. Red looked down at Arin’s hand, noticing finally that he was injured as well.

“You would help her before healing yourself?” Red smiled, reaching out to place a glowing red hand on his cheek. “She is already in your heart. Only one other remains.” She turned to Ultima, placing a hand on her injured neck. “I can still the bleeding long enough for you to find help. She is not yet strong enough to attain the power of self-healing.”  

“Thank you.” Arin sighed, slipping his hands under Ultima’s body, picking her up. 

“Your crew was released when I absorbed by projection. Go to them. The spirit living in the walls of your vessel is awake as well, and has already begun sending for help. May the Creation be kind to you, traveler.” The goddess dissipated into light, reabsorbing into Ultima’s body. Ultima groaned weakly, opening her eyes to look at Arin, her mouth finally closed.

She reached out to Arin, trying to touch his face. But her strength was depleted, by Dan’s actions and by Red’s possession of her body. She slumped against his chest, breathing shallowly. 

Arin tapped the wall with his foot, asking Barry to set a course for the nearest MedStation, asking him to get the MedBay ready.


	23. The One Who Remains (Daniel's Lament)

Ultima blinked, a blurry image slowly coming into view before her. Lights? Lights, yes. She blinked a few more times, taking a shaky breath, the right side of her neck incredibly achy. She coughed, sending a dull throb of pain through her neck. 

Then a gloved hand was on her shoulder, soothing and sure. “It’s okay, Ultima. You’re okay.” 

It was like someone had pulled the focus ring on her eyes. Arin’s face came into sharp focus as she stared into his eyes. “Arin.” She rasped, smiling timidly. “I’m so glad you’re here.” She stopped, looking around the whitish room. She saw on her right, another hospital bed, its’ occupant a bandaged Dan. These bandages were unlike any she had seen. Apparently, the only change in medical science in five thousand years being that bandages became transparent, almost clear. She also noticed a troubling bump on Dan’s stomach, surrounded by bandages as well.  “Where is here?”

“The MedWing. We managed to flag down a passing medic after everything that happened.” Arin sat beside her, eye level with her. “He treated you and Dan, and you’ve both been asleep for about two hours now. Dan’s on some pretty heavy meds right now, so he should sleep for another hour.” He looked at her sadly, remorse forming in his eyes as he looked at her injuries.

This didn’t pass Ultima’s attention. “Okay, I want you to be honest with me.” She turned to him, careful not to twist her neck too hard. “How bad is it?”

“Ultima, it’s better if-”

“Arin, don’t.” She shook her head, not accepting his refusal. “I want to know everything from now on. After losing over five thousand years of my life, I don’t want to miss another day.”

It pained Arin to see that the more worked up Ultima got, the redder her wound got, now a bright scarlet color through the glass-clear adhesive bandages. He exhaled greatly, taking her left hand in his. “When...Dan bit into your neck, he severed your external jugular, and...when he bit down on your gem, he came close to biting into your throat. But, he just bruised it.” He reached out to stroke her cheek with the back of his hand, Ultima staring at him, disbelieving. “I’m so sorry Ultima.”

“Your wrist.” Ultima murmured. “Dan bit onto your wrist too, didn’t he?” 

Arin nodded, holding up his arm. It showed little signs of scarring, but it was clear that he had been injured. “Just a little external bleeding, but, nothing too bad. Raptilian healing.” He smiled weakly. “It’s weird.” 

“What?” Ultima asked.

“Because of my...Raptilian half, my blood is actually toxic. Well, not toxic, but it burns like acid. It hurt Dan, when that thing left him. But, some of it got on you too, and…it didn’t hurt you.” 

“Is it really that special? I mean, you must have found other people with invulnerability to your blood, right?” 

“No, Ultima. It’s come in handy in fights, but no one’s been able to stand against it, no one except you.” Arin replied, staring at Ultima in awe and confusion. 

“Well, aren’t I a regular YA heroine?” She chuckled, wincing at the pain it produced in her wound.  

“I’m not sure what that is, but, I do know that you need to rest.” He stood, squeezing her hand as a parting gesture.

She squeezed in return, clutching his hand. “Don’t go.” She asked, the voice so earnest, so true. “Arin.” She whispered. 

Arin sat back down, scooting the chair as close as he could, resting his head beside her as Ultima slipped back behind the veil of sleep. 

Like before, Arin and Ultima had no idea that Dan had been watching them during their entire conversation. He had in truth, been awake for an hour, but he found that he had no strength to open his eyes, not fully at least. 

As he heard the conversation unfold, a strong sense of regret formed in his gut, and a tear rolled down his cheek, but it had nothing to do with his injuries. After Arin and Ultima fell asleep, he looked over at Ultima, wanting to be faced with the results of his actions. 

The transparent bandages did nothing to mask the gruesome injuries on Ultima’s neck. Her olive skin, so smooth and unscarred before were now marred with his own teeth marks. Dan felt his body shake with rage, at himself, but mostly, disgust. He looked down at his stomach, covered in blankets. Sighing, he folded his arms against his stomach, and he suddenly felt like a rock had dropped in his stomach. 

His hands on his stomach, Dan felt the gem that had driven him to madness still embedded there. 

How fitting, he thought,. Even after Ultima’s injuries healed, he might never be rid of this reminder of his cruelty. 


	24. And The Stars Are Exploding In Her Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's Chapter title comes from Siren Song by Bat for Lashes.

 

Ultima had to spend another day in the hospital, making her stay nearly a week long. Dan was released at about the same time, an hour afterwards. Shards of gemstones and crystals were still strewn about his digestive system, embedded in the most hidden nooks within his body. 

He was musing over the state of his relationship to her and its’ implications on the day she was released from the MedWing. Holly tapped his shoulder, pointing to the door as Ultima walked in, stopping in the doorway, her hands fiddling at her side. 

Without saying anything, without giving Arin a chance to say anything, she walked to a cabinet, grabbing a bowl and setting it on the counter, a random spasm of pain pulsing through her wound. She gave out a small gasp, grabbing the edge of the counter.

Arin rushed to her side, placing a hand on the small of her back. “Ultima.” He whispered, looking at her face as she shut her eyes, hanging her head. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah.” She whispered, shaking her head gently before swallowing, looking up at him. “I’ll be fine.” Ultima offered up a tentative smile, reaching out to take his hand. 

After getting some breakfast, Ultima sat down, trying to eat slowly, the effort suddenly strenuous for her. 

She had managed to take a few careful bites when Dan walked into the room. Ultima looked up at him, trying not to make it seem like she was scared by him. 

In truth, she was petrified. 

The last time she had seen Dan, he had been in the hospital wing. But what truly stuck with her was the time before that. When Dan had marred her skin, possessed by a being of indescribable cruelty, and she felt that she could still see that danger in his frame. 

Dan swallowed harshly, looking at the collar on Ultima’s cape. Knowing what lay there only brought to mind the full gravity of his situation. His guilt rose to indescribable heights now, and he bit back tears climbing in his throat, his eyes stinging with tears. Without a word, he grabbed a few packets of food and a bottle of water, leaving the kitchens as quickly as he had come. 

Ultima shrank back into her chair, looking down at her hands. 

The Bombers welcomed Ultima back into the normal routines of the Starbomb, all of them in respectful awe and tentative delicacy with regards to Ultima. It was like she was made of iron and porcelain, strong and immovable, but easily breakable as well. 

Arin perhaps felt this more keenly than any other Bomber did. Given his now deeply reciprocated feelings for Ultima, he wanted to crush her close to his chest, wrap his arms around her and protect her from harm. What was maddening about this was the fact that he now knew that she was still just as vulnerable as any other human being, despite her cosmological powers. 

On that note, what The Red Goddess Of Creation had told him, what she had said still kept him up at night. Ultima’s true fate, and now the fate of his entire crew was still up in the air. But what mattered most to him now was her wellbeing. 

On her first night back, Arin walked to her room, standing in the doorway. 

Ultima had removed her bandages, wanting to get a look at the injury on her neck. Now, staring at herself in the mirror, she wished she hadn’t. 

She’d put on a black tank top and black cotton shorts, her hair having twisted itself into a complicated braid on her head, leaving her neck exposed to the elements. Ultima looked up, finally noticing Arin standing in the doorway. She looked at him, eyes darting between him and her reflection. 

The tears came without warning, small sobs rippling through her body as she stared at the scars, Arin approaching her. 

He leaned down to kiss her neck, just above where the scar started, his hands rubbing her upper arms. Ultima was now openly sobbing, folding her arms to hold his hands. Arin shushed her gently, kissing along the skin of her neck, taking extra care so his teeth didn’t hurt her farther, the most tender he could ever remember being with a significant other. 

Ultima leaned completely into him, feeling her strength leave her as she crumbled into his arms. Arin cradled her close, picking her up. 

He lay down next to her, she laying beside him, her face turned into his chest as she cried. Arin wrapped his tail around her waist, pulling her close as he purred in her ear, rubbing her back. 

Ultima pressed further into his chest, her warmth seeping into his bones. Her sobs stabbed into his heart, sneaking in between his ribs, her pain chilling him to the core. He kissed her head, purring louder, letting out tiny chirps now and then. 

It pained her to see her like this, to see her in physical and mental agony, but he would do everything in his power to help her, to ease that pain. 

No matter what the cost.

 


	25. Epilogue: The Perfect Vessel, And The One Who Created Him

Dan, meanwhile, had been in a torturous limbo, withdrawn into his cabin, shuffling out only to go the ShipGarden and the Kitchens, grabbing food and sitting amongst the bioluminescent plants. 

One day, while sitting in the ShipGarden, Dan’s train of thought derailed when he heard a stumbled step in the doorway. 

“Sorry!” Ultima exclaimed, stumbling back. “I-I’ll go.” 

Dan shook his head. “It’s fine. You can hang out.” He scooted over on the patch of grass he was sitting on, looking back out the window. 

Ultima sat next to him, on his left side, taking care not to sit on her own hair. She stretched her legs out before bending her knees, not quite hugging them to her chest, but still resting her arms on them. After a few minutes of awkward silence, she turned to him, the words taking a few stumbles to form. “How are you holding up?”

Dan sighed, turning to look at her. In the glow of the nearby plants, it became clear to Ultima that Dan had had almost no sleep since that incident. Huge bags formed under his eyes, his typically well kept stubble now more bedraggled, stress lines scrawled across his paling face. “Honestly? Not great. But I think it would be better if I asked you that.”

“I’m, fine, really. I feel great.” Ultima carved a smile into her face, the effort a great strain on her. “You don’t need to worry.”

Dan laughed, a sharp, harsh sound. Shaking his head, he looked back at her, seeing right through her guise. “Really? After what it-I did to you?” 

“Dan, you didn’t hurt me, it wasn’t you.”

He sighed, looking down. “I guess that’s true.” He admitted. He didn’t want to argue with her, ever. 

“Does, does that happen a lot? Losing control of your body?” 

“Not really. It only ever happens like, once every...three months? If at all. It’s kind of like three to four times a year.” 

“That doesn’t sound too bad.” Ultima tried, seeing if her words would calm him. 

“You don’t know the half of it.” He sighed, turning to her. “Look, every time my body gets snatched, I can’t, firstly, control my own body. And once the alien runs its’ course in me, and they get it out. Oh, god, getting it out!” He held his head in his hands, remembering all the times this had happened. His voice rising as he ranted on. “To get it out, it has to be physically removed! Sometimes while I’m still conscious! And once it’s vulnerable, they have to stick me into this big metal tube that sends sonic waves through me! And it, it…” Dan sighed, voice finally falling to a low murmur. “But, the worst part of it is that I know everything that’s happening while the alien has control of me. I can see everything I’m doing, without having any control over it.”

Ultima stared at Dan, shocked at the sudden outburst. She had no idea of any of this-no one had thought to tell her. After composing herself, she bit her lip, asking quietly, “So, you saw what happened to me....oh, Dan.” She reached out to him, wanting to hug him, but Dan pulled away, shaking his head. 

“I want to see it.”He declared, staring intensely at Ultima with a determination she had never seen in his eyes. 

“What?”

“The scar. I want to see it.” 

“Dan, you really don’t-”

“Yes, I do! I need to know what I’ve done, I have to confront it.” 

Ultima couldn’t deny the determination in his voice. Slowly, and with shaking hands, Ultima unclasped the collar of her cape, letting it fall off her shoulders, exposing her unbandaged scar to Dan’s sleep deprived eyes. 

Dan looked over the scar marring Ultima’s neck and collarbone. He had prepared himself for seeing it, but looking at the injury now, he knew that no amount of preparation could prepare him for what he was seeing now. 

He swallowed a knot of tears forming in the back of his throat. “Holy shit.” He murmured, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight, all the while wishing he could. 

Ultima looked away, her head turned away from Dan. “It doesn’t hurt.” She lied through her teeth. “Not anymore.” She tried to reassure him, laughing nervously, the effort making her wince. 

But Dan’s quick eyes noticed this small tremor, and he shook his head, laying down on the grass again. He covered his face with his hands, letting out a muffled agonized noise. 

This motion made his shirt ride up slightly, and it was then that Ultima noticed something.

The red gem was still embedded in his stomach. 

“D-Dan?” She asked, reaching out to gently nudge his shoulder. 

“What?” He choked out, moving his hands to look at her. 

“The gem is still in your stomach.” She said quietly. 

Dan looked down, shaking his head. “This has never happened before. Well, not to this extent. Sometimes the physical changes of the snatching stay with me, but, they usually fade a few hours afterwards.” 

“And this...hasn’t shown any signs of disappearing?” She asked, looking down at the gem on his stomach. 

“No. I don’t think it will ever go away, either.”

Ani bit her lip, looking down. She reached out and gently laid her hand down on the gem on his stomach. Dan twitched up, looking at Ultima in confusion.

He couldn’t comprehend the empathy in her face, the kindness and forgiveness there. 

“You’ll be okay, Dan. What’s past is past.” She smiled at him, all the while, her hand resting on the gem, fingers brushing against the skin of Dan’s lower stomach. The red gem at the base of her throat radiating a soft light. 

“Ultima, your gem is glowing.” 

“What?” She pulled her hand away, looking down at the gem as it continued emitting radiance. 

“Why is it, sorry, she doing that?” 

“I don’t know. Red hasn’t exactly been the most chatty of Goddesses. But, I’ll figure things out. I have to.”

Dan bit his lip, something twisting in his mind. His stomach turned, his body feeling a change in his destiny even if he himself couldn’t.

Something in his future was getting ready for him. 

\----

Somewhere in the universe, deep within the dark matter of the universe, a lone figure stared into a large bowl of what looked like black water so still that it looked like flat onyx. 

“I’ve found him.” The figure rasped, hands on either side of the bowl. What he saw in the water, none could say. The images playing out across the water’s surface were a mystery to all but him. 

Soon enough, once he’d seen what he wanted to see, the water faded away to flat black, and he could see his own reflection in the black water. 

His singed visage had, at one point, shamed him. But now, after eons of living with the burns that marked his body, he bore them as a badge of honor, a physical sign of his strength. 

Turning from his scrying pool, The First God, folded his hands, looking out into the black, starless expanse of the edge of the Universe

“The poor boy doesn’t know his destiny. Neither does that naive Daughter he’s so foolishly developing feelings for.” He mused aloud. If one had to guess, he was speaking directly to the void, the neverending darkness that surrounded the expanding universe. 

“And to think that I truly thought that projection would truly retrieve the Red shard for me.” He shook his head. “So strong, he seemed. But too uncontrollable. Too impulsive.” 

The First God unfolded his arms, walking back to the scrying pool. Gripping the edges, he tried to find his next move. “But that infernal girl has already found one of her companions, and the first gem. Then again…” He grinned grimly, looking up as the realization sank into his bones. 

“I’ve found The Perfect Vessel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2, (Oh Yeah!) I Will Rock Your World! is out now!


End file.
